Skate boot with resilient upper strap

ABSTRACT

A skate boot body has a lower boot portion for receiving the foot and an upper boot portion for receiving the ankle and a portion of a lower leg, in which the upper and lower boot portions are rigidly connected. The lower boot portion fastens the foot relative to the rigid boot body using laces. The upper boot portion fastens the lower leg portion relative to the rigid boot body using an independent upper strap. The upper strap includes a resilient portion, whereby a circumference of the upper portion of the skate boot body about the ankle varies as the resilient portion of the adjustable upper strap is resiliently deformed by flexing of the user&#39;s ankle. The resilient upper strap provides an optimal balance of rigid support between the skate boot and user, while still allowing the user to comfortably flex their ankle through a large range of motion.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a skate boot having a lower bootportion secured about the foot of the user and an upper boot portionsecured about a portion of the lower leg of the user in which the upperand lower boot portions are rigidly connected.

BACKGROUND

A common skate boot structure generally includes a lower boot portionfor receiving the foot of a user therein and an upper boot portion forsurrounding the ankle and/or lower leg of the user, in which the upperand lower boot portions are rigidly connected to form an integral bootbody. A common set of laces tighten both the upper and lower bootportions about the user. Although this arrangement adequately securesthe skate boot to the foot of the user, the common fastening of both thefoot and ankle area of the user to a common rigid boot body can resultin high pressure zones between the skate boot and the user when the userflexes their ankle. In particular, flexing of the ankle area tends toconcentrate pressure at the uppermost portion of the laces and acrossthe metatarsal region of the foot bed.

Some attempts have been made to allow more flexing of the ankle byhinging the upper boot portion relative to the lower boot portion.Examples are described in Canadian Patent Application nos. 2,212,229 byLinner and 2,433,571 by Svensson et al, and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,884by Rullier and U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,975 by Benoit et al. In eachinstance, the lower boot portion and the upper boot portion areindependently tightened about the foot and ankle region respectively ofthe user, however, even when using rigid, non-resilient fastening meansin each instance, the overall boot structure has too much freedom ofmovement and therefore lacks adequate support. Furthermore, the hingeddesign is not durable enough and does not provide sufficient protectionto withstand impacts from pucks when used for hockey.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a skate bootfor receiving a foot and a lower leg of a user therein, the skate bootcomprising:

a sole portion extending longitudinally between a toe end and a heel endfor supporting the foot of the user thereon;

an inner side wall portion and an outer side wall portion orientedgenerally longitudinally and extending upwardly from laterally opposingsides of the sole portion at an intermediate location between the toeend and the heel end towards respective upper free edges which arelaterally spaced apart so as to partially define a tongue openingtherebetween;

two ankle portions extending upwardly from said laterally opposing sidesof the sole portion at the heel end in connection with respective onesof the side wall portions for spanning over respective ankles of thefoot and a lower leg portion of the user in which the two ankle portionsinclude forward free edges which are laterally spaced apart so as topartially define the tongue opening therebetween;

a heel portion extending upwardly from the heel end of the sole portionin connection between the two ankle portions;

the sole portion, the side wall portions, the two ankle portions, andthe heel portion being rigidly connected with one another to form anintegral skate boot body;

eyelets formed at spaced positions along the inner and outer side wallportions to receive laces spanning across a portion of the tongueopening to fasten a lower portion of the skate boot body about the footof the user;

an upper strap spanning across the tongue opening between the two ankleportions so as to fasten an upper portion of the skate boot body aboutthe lower leg portion of the user;

the upper strap including a resilient portion formed therein such that acircumference of the upper portion of the skate boot body varies as theresilient portion of the upper strap is resiliently deformed.

The arrangement of laces for fastening about the foot of the user and aresilient strap for fastening about the lower leg portion of the userrelative to a common rigid boot body provides a desirable degree ofsupport to the user, while still enabling greater range of movement andcomfort when flexing the ankle as compared to conventional lacesfastening the skate boot about both the foot and ankle of the user. Theresilient upper strap thus reduces high pressure zones and provides amore equal and larger distribution of fastening pressure at the top ofthe foot to reduce the biting of the laces at the lower leg portion ofthe user. The increased range of motion at the ankle joint and increaseddorsiflexion provides improved skating performance in addition toimproved comfort. The resilient upper strap also results in more evendistribution of plantar surface pressure resulting in more conversion ofenergy into shot velocity for improved hockey shooting performance aswell.

The upper strap preferably extends about a full circumference of theupper portion of the skate boot body. When the upper strap is elongatebetween opposing first and second end portions which are joined to oneanother by the resilient portion therebetween, the first end portion maybe selectively securable to the second end portion to secure the upperstrap circumferentially about the upper portion of the skate boot.

The resilient portion preferably spans across the tongue opening. Whenthe skate boot includes a strap receiving ring supported adjacent afirst ankle portion of two ankle portions of the skate boot, theresilient portion of the upper strap may include (i) a first portionextending from a second ankle portion of the two ankle portions of theskate boot across the tongue opening to the strap receiving ring, and(ii) a second portion connected to the first portion through the strapreceiving ring to extend across the tongue opening from the strapreceiving ring to a free end of the strap which is selectively securablerelative to the skate boot.

The strap receiving ring may be rectangular in shape, having a rigid barmember about which the upper strap is wrapped which extends linearlyacross a full height of the upper strap.

Preferably, the free end of the upper strap is adjustably securable toan opposing end portion of the strap, in which the opposing end portionof the strap is anchored relative to the skate boot body.

When laces are received within the eyelets to fasten the lower portionof the skate boot body about the foot of the user, the laces preferablyterminate below the upper strap.

When the eyelets are evenly spaced apart within respective rows on eachside of the skate boot body, the upper strap preferably has a heightcorresponding to a distance occupied by three adjacent eyelets.

The upper strap may be anchored to the heel portion of the skate bootbody using a rivet connected between the upper strap and the heelportion of the skate boot body.

The upper strap may further include a first fastener on a free end ofthe upper strap and a second fastener anchored relative to the skateboot body in which one of the first and second fasteners comprises loopsand another one of the first and second fasteners comprises hooks of amating set of hook and loop fasteners.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a skate boot showing an outer side ofthe skate boot in which the position of the upper strap is shown inbroken line;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the skate boot in which the upper strapis shown in a secured position about the upper portion of the skate bootand laces are shown in broken line securing the lower portion of theskate boot;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the upper strap in a releasedposition on the skate boot;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the upper strap in a released position on theskate boot of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the upper strap in a secured position onthe skate boot of FIG. 1

FIG. 6 is an inner side elevational view of the upper strap in a securedposition on the skate boot;

FIG. 7 is an outer side elevational view of the upper strap in a securedposition on the skate boot;

FIG. 8 is a graphical representation of a surface pressure distributionbetween the tongue of the skate boot and surfaces at the front lowershin and top of the foot of the user in response to flexing of the ankleof the user when using conventional laces to secure the upper portion ofthe boot body about the ankle of the user; and

FIG. 9 is a graphical representation of a surface pressure distributionbetween the tongue of the skate boot and surfaces at the front lowershin and top of the foot of the user in response to flexing of the ankleof the user when using the resilient upper strap to secure the upperportion of the boot body about the ankle of the user.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the accompanying figures, there is illustrated a resilientskate boot upper strap generally indicated by reference numeral 10. Theupper strap 10 is particularly suited for use with a skate boot 12 ofthe type described below.

The skate boot 12 generally includes a skate boot body having a lowerboot portion 14 for receiving the foot of the user therein and an upperboot portion 16 for receiving the ankle, and Achilles region of a lowerleg portion of the user therein. The upper and lower boot portions arerigidly connected to one another to form an integral, monocoque skateboot body.

More particularly the boot body includes a sole portion 18 which extendslongitudinally between a toe end 20 at a front end of the skate boot anda heel end 22 at a rear end of the skate boot. The sole portion 18 isadapted to receive the foot of the user thereon.

An inner side wall portion 24 of the boot body extends upwardly from aninner side edge of the sole portion to be oriented generallylongitudinally along most of the length of the skate boot. The innerside wall extends upwardly to a respective upper free edge. Similarly,an outer side wall portion 26 extends upwardly from an outer side edgeof the sole portion to be oriented generally longitudinally along mostof the length of the skate boot. The outer side wall also extendsupwardly to a respective upper free edge such that the upper free edges27 at laterally opposing sides of the skate boot are spaced apart by alower tongue opening therebetween.

The boot body also includes two ankle portions 28 extending upwardlyfrom the laterally opposing sides of the sale portion in proximity tothe heel end so as to be integral with respective ones of the side wallportions while being positioned to extend upwardly over respectiveankles of the foot and overlap a lower leg portion of the user above theankles. The parts of the ankle portions which extend above the inner andouter side wails include forward free edges 29 which are also laterallyspaced apart by an upper tongue opening therebetween. The forward freeedges 29 of the ankle portions are continuous with the upper free edgesof the inner and outer side walls such that the lower and upper tongueopenings are similarly continuous with one another to form a commontongue opening of the skate boot.

A heel portion 30 of the boot body is connected between the two ankleportions to extend upwardly from the heel end of the sole portion tospan over the Achilles region of the user and overlap a portion of thelower leg of the user.

The sole portion 18, the inner and outer side walls 24 and 26, the ankleportions 28, and the heel portion 30 are all commonly formed together ofa similar rigid material which is preferably seamless and continuousthroughout to define a monocoque structure of the boot body. In thisinstance, the sole portion 18, the inner and outer side walls 24 and 26,and a lower portion of the heel and ankle portions collectively define alower boot portion 14 receiving the foot of the user therein.Alternatively, the upper portion of the ankle portions 28 and the upperportion of the heel portion 30 which surrounds the ankle and a lowerportion of the leg of the user at the Achilles region form the upperboot portion 16 surrounding the ankle and a portion of the lower leg ofthe user.

A toe cap 32 is provided for enclosing toes of the user therein at thetoe end of the sole portion. The toe cap may be optionally formed aspart of the monocoque structure of the boot body, or formed as aseparate component separately mounted onto the boot body.

A tongue 34 is provided as a panel of material anchored at a forward endto the toe cap 32 to span rearwardly and upwardly across the lower andupper tongue openings in overlapping arrangement below the upper freeedges of the side walls and inwardly of the forward free edges of theankle portions respectively.

A mounting frame 35 is supported below the sole portion for coupling askate blade to the boot body in the illustrated embodiment. In furtherembodiments, a different configuration of mounting frame may be providedfor coupling a row of wheels to for an inline skate boot.

A row of the eyelets 36, in which each eyelet includes a respectivegrommet mounted therein, is mounted in an evenly spaced apart manneralong each side of the tongue opening in the skate boot body. Each rowof eyelets 36 thus extends alongside the upper free edge of a respectiveone of the side walls of the lower boot portion and alongside theforward free edge of a respective one of the ankle portions.

A set of laces 38 are strung through the eyelets 36 across the lowerboot portion to enable fastening of the lower boot portion snugly aboutthe foot of the user are received therein. Typically, the laces are onlyreceived within the eyelets of the lower boot portion such that the twouppermost eyelets within the upper boot portion do not receive lacestherein when using the upper strap 10 described in further detail below.

The strap 10 comprises an elongate member having a first end portion 112adjacent a first end 114 of the member, a second end portion 116adjacent an opposing free second end 118 of the member, and anintermediate portion 120 spanning an intermediate section of the strapthat extends between the first end portion 112 and the second endportion 116. The first and second end portions are formed ofnon-elastic, non-resilient material so as to be fixed in length in thelongitudinal direction of the strap even when under tension, however theintermediate portion 120 is formed of an elastic, resilient materialwhich can be stretched in length when under tension.

In a relaxed state of the elastic intermediate portion 120, the firstend portion occupies between one third and one half of the overalllength of the strap, the intermediate portion occupies between one thirdand one half of the overall length of the strap, and the second endportion occupies between one quarter and one third of the overall lengthof the strap.

A strap receiving ring 122 is mounted to the first end 114 of the strapby forming the material of the first end portion into a loop withstitching to retain a portion of the ring therein. More particularly,the ring 122 is rectangular in shape having an inner bar member 124spanning a full height of the strap 10 which is received within the loopat the first end 114 of the strap and an opposing outer bar member 126which is parallel and spaced apart from the inner bar member tosimilarly span a full height of the strap 10.

In the illustrated embodiment, the first end portion 112 of the strap isanchored relative to the heel portion of the skate boot body by a rivet128 which is laterally centred within the heel portion while beingvertically centred relative to the height of the strap. The strap isjoined to the heel portion such that the ring 122 at the first end 114is located adjacent the ankle portion at the inner side of the skateboot so that the first end portion spans from the ring across the rearof the skate boot to locate the junction 130 of the first end portion112 with the intermediate portion 120 in proximity to the ankle portionat the diametrically opposed outer side of the skate boot.

In use, the upper strap secures the upper boot portion of the skate bootabout the ankle and lower leg of the user by positioning the resilientintermediate portion 120 to span across the tongue opening at the frontside of the upper boot portion from the junction 130 at the outer sideof the boot body to the ring 122 at the inner side of the boot body,through the ring 122, and then back across the tongue opening as asecond layer from the ring 122 at the inner side of the boot body to thefirst end portion 112 at the outer side of the boot body.

A matching set of hook and loop fasteners can be used to secure thesecond end portion relative to the first end portion in the securedposition of the upper strap. More particularly, to secure the strap in asecured position, a set of loop fasteners 131 are provided on the firstend portion 122 at a first side of the strap facing outwardly from theskate boot, and a corresponding set of hook fasteners 132 are providedon the second end portion at a common first side of the strap 10. Inthis manner, when the resilient intermediate portion 120 is positionedto extend through the ring 122 and form a double layer passing over thefront side of the upper boot portion, the hook fasteners 132 on thesecond end portion will face inwardly towards the corresponding loopfasteners 130 to enable the hook and loop fasteners to mate with oneanother. The second end portion of the strap can thus be secured to thefirst end portion of the strap at a plurality of positions adjusted inthe circumferential direction about the upper portion of the boot bodyfor adjusting the overall circumference of the strap.

In the manner described above, using the upper strap as the only meansof constricting the upper boot portion about the ankle and lower leg ofthe user independently of the laces which fasten and constrict the lowerboot portion about the foot of the user, the fastening of the ankle anda lower leg of the user relative to the rigidly connected upper andlower boot portions allows a greater range of movement in the flexing ofthe ankle of the user as compared to other non-resilient means forsecuring both the upper and lower boot portions in the prior art.

More particularly, as the user flexes their ankle forwardly, theintermediate portion 120 of the strap is resiliently stretched in lengthto allow the overall circumference of the skate boot body fastened aboutthe ankle of the user to increase.

An experiment using pressure sensors located under the tongue of theskate boot was performed to measure pressure distribution across thefront of the lower leg portion of the user when flexing the ankle. Theresults of using conventional non-resilient laces across both upper andlower boot portions are shown in FIG. 8. The results of using only theresilient upper strap 10 across the upper boot portion are shown in FIG.9. When using conventional laces, FIG. 8 demonstrates a narrow strip ofsmall area with very high pressure across the uppermost lacescorresponding to the front of the lower leg portion of the user.Alternatively FIG. 9 demonstrates that when using the resilient upperstrap 10, the magnitude of force at any specific location across thefront of the lower leg of the user is reduced and the pressure isdistributed over a larger area. Accordingly, the upper strap accordingto the present invention with the elastic component therein across thefront of the skate creates more equal pressure distribution and allowsthe leg and shin of the user to push forward without encountering highpeak forces which normally occur from laces.

Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein abovedescribed, and many apparently widely different embodiments of samemade, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanyingspecification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in alimiting sense.

1. A skate boot for receiving a foot and a lower leg of a user therein,the skate boot comprising: a sole portion extending longitudinallybetween a toe end and a heel end for supporting the foot of the userthereon; an inner side wall portion and an outer side wall portionoriented generally longitudinally and extending upwardly from laterallyopposing sides of the sole portion at an intermediate location betweenthe toe end and the heel end towards respective upper free edges whichare laterally spaced apart so as to partially define a tongue openingtherebetween; two ankle portions extending upwardly from said laterallyopposing sides of the sole portion at the heel end in connection withrespective ones of the side wall portions for spanning over respectiveankles of the foot and a lower leg portion of the user in which the twoankle portions include forward free edges which are laterally spacedapart so as to partially define the tongue opening therebetween; a heelportion extending upwardly from the heel end of the sole portion inconnection between the two ankle portions; the sole portion, the sidewall portions, the two ankle portions, and the heel portion beingrigidly connected with one another to form an integral skate boot body;eyelets formed at spaced positions along the inner and outer side wallportions to receive laces spanning across a portion of the tongueopening to fasten a lower portion of the skate boot body about the footof the user; an upper strap spanning across the tongue opening betweenthe two ankle portions so as to fasten an upper portion of the skateboot body about the lower leg portion of the user; the upper strapincluding a resilient portion formed therein such that a circumferenceof the upper portion of the skate boot body varies as the resilientportion of the upper strap is resiliently deformed.
 2. The skate bootaccording to claim 1 wherein the upper strap extends about a fullcircumference of the upper portion of the skate boot body.
 3. The skateboot according to claim 2 wherein the upper strap is elongate betweenopposing first and second end portions which are joined to one anotherby the resilient portion therebetween, the second end portion beingselectively securable to the first end portion to secure the upper strapcircumferentially about the upper portion of the skate boot.
 4. Theskate boot according to claim 1 wherein the resilient portion spansacross the tongue opening.
 5. The skate boot according to claim 1further comprising a strap receiving ring supported adjacent a firstankle portion of two ankle portions of the skate boot, the resilientportion of the upper strap including a first portion extending from asecond ankle portion of the two ankle portions of the skate boot acrossthe tongue opening to the strap receiving ring, and a second portionconnected to the first portion through the strap receiving ring toextend across the tongue opening from the strap receiving ring to a freeend of the strap which is selectively securable relative to the skateboot.
 6. The skate boot according to claim 5 wherein the free end of theupper strap is adjustably securable to an opposing end portion of thestrap, in which the opposing end portion of the strap is anchoredrelative to the skate boot body.
 7. The skate boot according to claim 5wherein the strap receiving ring is rectangular in shape having a rigidbar member about which the upper strap is wrapped which extends linearlyacross a full height of the upper strap.
 8. The skate boot according toclaim 1 further comprising laces received within the eyelets to fastenthe lower portion of the skate boot body about the foot of the user, thelaces terminating below the upper strap.
 9. The skate boot according toclaim 1 wherein the eyelets are evenly spaced apart within respectiverows on each side of the skate boot body and wherein the upper strap hasa height corresponding to a distance occupied by at least two adjacenteyelets.
 10. The skate boot according to claim 1 wherein the upper strapis anchored to the heel portion of the skate boot body.
 11. The skateboot according to claim 10 further comprising a rivet connected betweenthe upper strap and the heel portion of the skate boot body.
 12. Theskate boot according to claim 1 further comprising a first fastener on afree end of the upper strap and a second fastener anchored relative tothe skate boot body, one of the first and second fasteners comprisingloops and another one of the first and second fasteners comprising hooksof a mating set of hook and loop fasteners.